There's Something Out There - A Short Series of Challenges
by River of Broken Souls
Summary: For a small group of cats in the forest, there has been nothing but peace for many moons. But soon, cats are going missing. Screams can be heard through the night. Mangled bodies of their friends can be found strewn through the forest. Something is out there. Something who won't stop until every last cat lays dead beneath the moon. (Rated M for lots of Gore) -For Caesar's Palace-
1. Choosing the Animal

**Caesar's Palace Prompts:**

-Challenge: Build a Bear (Choosing your Animal)

-Vivid: Clawing

-Vivid: Organs

-Vivid: Monster

* * *

 _Choosing the Animal_

The black cat slinked though the grass, blending in with the night. The night stars shone above, forcing the cat to move near the trees, the shadows lacing over their pelt. As the cat moved, her claws were out. While she tried to keep her body covered, she allowed the moonlight to glint over her lethal weapons. No creature would've been able to see it, but a disturbing smile was stretched across the cats face.

She gazed out into the clearing, her blood red eyes flickering with every movement. The sound of voices traveled to her ears, filling them with laughter. She snarled, disgusted by the cat's happiness. Soon though, the two had traveled into the moonlit clearing, completely unaware of the threat lurking in the bushes. One of them was a she-cat. She had a silver tabby pelt, the fur long and smooth. Her eyes were a pale green, contrasting with the dark leaves of the forest. The other was a ginger tom. His fur was short, and the black she-cat could see the muscles ripping under his pelt through the bushes. He had dark blue eyes, almost as dark as the night they hid in.

The black she-cat smiled, gently padding away from the couple.

The ginger tom threw his head back in laughter, his eyes screwed shut to stop tears from falling as he gasped for breath. The silver she cat looked at him, a red blush gracing her cheeks. Once he was able to get ahold of himself, her turned towards the she-cat. Green met blue as their eyes locked. Though you couldn't see it because of his ginger pelt, a light blush has formed on top of his cheeks. The she-cat's silver fur shone in the moonlight, and her green eyes were glowing.

"I.. I think I love you."

He murmured, ducking his head in embarrassment. He waited for a reply, but never received one. He glanced upwards to see a look of horror on the she-cat's face. Then she fell forwards, a slit cut through her neck. He gasped in shock as a pool of blood flowed from the wound, staining the green grass red.

The tom whirled around to see a black cat lunge at him. He was barely able to escape, scrambling to find his balance. His blue eyes were able to land on his target before she struck again. He was strong, but she was fast. He tried his best to defend himself, but she would sneak in and rake her claws across his flank, digging through the skin. He yowled in pain, fighting the she-cat off. The two fought for a long time until the tom couldn't continue. He had claw marks running up and down his flank, making every moment extremely painful. Every breath he took was full of agony. He crumbled to the ground, praying for Starclan to make this death quick. He felt a shadow block out the shine of the moon. A swipe like acid flew down his stomach, more painful than anything he had ever felt. He felt his insides tumble out of him, and he was barely able to utter his next words.

"You... You monster!"

He cried out, though they had no effect on the attacker. Soon the pain numbed, and his world descended into black.

The she-cat watched as the toms organs spilled from his body, littering the ground in a bloody mess. His eyes dulled and she turned away, no longer interested in this specimen. She slinked back into the shadows, leaving the two dead bodies in full view. As she made her way through the shadows, she smiled.

 _Monster. Yes, I like that._

* * *

 **05/26/16**


	2. Scent and Sound

**Caesar's Palace Prompts:**

-Challenge: Build a Bear Challenge (Scent/Sound) ((Rotting flesh/Screams))

-Vivid: Cannibal

-Vivid: Rotting

-Vivid: Flesh

* * *

 _Scent and Sound_

A brown tabby tom padded through the forest, crunching the fallen leaves beneath his paws. A blissful smile lay upon his face as he made his way through the calming forest, relishing the crispy leaf-fall air. He moved with to direction to go, simply walking to walk and enjoy himself.

Soon he came upon an old tree, it's branches bare, and it's bark crumbling. The tree was dead, and had been for many years. Still, at it's base there was a small hole, hidden by the ferns that grew in front of it. Smiling the tom made his way over to the hole, pushing the ferns away from the entrance as he sat inside. It was dark and calming, like a night in the middle of winter. Soon he had allowed his leaf green eyes to fall shut, relaxing inside his little haven.

Then he smelt it.

His nose scrunched at the smell, causing him to narrow his eyes in disgust. Forcing himself to stand, he exited his "den" attempting to pinpoint the source of the scent. The frigid wind brought another whiff of the scent to his nose. He gagged as the wave almost suffocated him.

He started to follow the scent trail, attempting to find what was making the forest smell so disgusting. As he moved the scent got worse, making it harder for him to breathe. It smelled as if something were rotting, and everything reeked of death. He pushed his way through the thick undergrowth, determined to find the source of the scent. Finally, when he though the scent would suffocate him completely, he stumbled into a clearing.

The smell was over powering, but that wasn't what caught his attention first. The clearing was surrounded by birch trees, and they were all laced in blood. The sticky red substance was everywhere, strewn across the damp forest floor and splattered on the few leaves that remained on the trees. His green eyes widened in shock, lighting up with fear. Then his gaze fell into the center of the clearing.

There was what appeared to be a cat lying on the leafy ground, though it was hard to tell. Their flesh had been ripped to shreds and bloody clumps of fur lay around them, sticking to their corpse. Their flesh was strewn every where, chunks laying in random areas around the clearing. The scent was coming from this body, and it smelled of rotting flesh and death.

The tom tore his eyes away from the sight before him, unable to look any longer. His stomach churned within him, and he struggled to remain standing. His head was swimming, and e was only able to form one thought.

 _I need to get out of here!_

That's when he heard the rustling. It was quiet, barely louder than a mouse's squeak. Still, in the silence of the leaf-fall forest, the rustle was as loud as thunder. The tom slowly turned around, shaking slightly with fear. His eyes widened at what he saw.

There was another cat in the clearing, one he hadn't seen. It appeared to be a she-cat, though he couldn't be sure. Her pelt was black as night, and her head was dipped downwards. He gazed in horror as he watched the cat. Slowly, she dipped her head down into the other cat's rotting body. The brown tabby tom couldn't see what she was doing until she lifted her head.

A stringy chunk up rotten flesh hung from her sharp front teeth and sticky red blood dripped down her chin. The tom looked on in absolute terror. _She's eating another cat! She's a cannibal!_ A scream bubbled in his throat, but only a shocked croak came out. Then he realized his mistake.

The she-cat instantly turned her head to face the tom, her blood red eyes meeting his. They stared at each other for a few seconds. Then, she was gone. The tom whirled his head to try and find her, the scent of fear floating off of him like a wave. Twitching his ears, he picked up a slight rustle. He swiveled his head around just in time to see those pristine white claws come straight for his throat.

His screams of agony pierced through the quiet forest.

* * *

 **07/02/2016**


	3. Minimal Stuffing

The first thing she had noticed were the guards.

Two cats, quite strong by the looks of it, placed in front of the camp in order to protect those inside. Guard who were placed there to protect against one specific cat who seemed to enjoy the feeling of blood on her paws. To be honest, they did their job quite well. Most who came across them would flee backwards in fear.

 _But that's not going to stop me._

* * *

A smile graced her lips as the guard disappeared into the forest.

All it had taken was a rustle, a small disturbance in the leaves in order for the guard to leave his post, leaving the other alone.

Oh it was almost too easy.

* * *

Even she didn't know why she remained so impossibly invisible. She was small, yes. Her paw steps were precise, silent as a mouse. It was almost as if the air didn't move around her, but with her. Every moment she made left no trace, as if she hadn't really been there at all.

But honestly, the guard should take some blame for what was about to happen.

For all that she was, invisible wasn't it.

How could the guard not notice the cat poised behind him, claws outstretched?

* * *

At the last moment, her claws retreated. A scream would give her away.

So instead, a paw was wrapped around his neck, no intention of letting go.

And he struggled, oh how he struggled. To see him writhing in pain, desperately trying to escape, willing to do anything just to bring one breath into his body, oh the sight drove her mad with hunger.

It was a pity when he fell limp to the ground.


	4. Putting in the Heart

It became old quite quickly.

Blood dripping from your paws, little scraps of flesh hanging from your teeth, the screams of terror as someone realized they wouldn't make it out alive. Sure, there were multiple methods to choose from, but dismemberment and asphyxiations became boring quite quickly. It just wasn't as fun as it used to be.

Some nights, as she lay in the tree tops, still not asleep but not quite awake, her mind would wander away. At first, it was quite strange. As long as she could remember, she had never been one to reminisce. The past was in the past. But it seemed with the ways things had been going, anything and everything could be used as a method so as not to turn those claws on herself.

The first dream had been just a small glimpse from her past. A small, night black kitten curled into a dull grey pelt, the smell of milk clogging her small pink nose. The warmth and comfort had been suffocating. When her eyes finally flashed open, greeted by the darkness of night, she was strangely relieved.

In the second, she was a bit older, maybe three or four moons. That familiar grey pelt was nowhere in sight, yet the black kitten was not worried. Perhaps she was distracted by the small butterfly which had landed in the grass, catching the kitten's attention and refusing to give it up. And so the kitten played, chasing the butterfly who strangely enough would always take flight at the last second, and land somewhere near where the kitten would be able to hop at it again. Soon, the mother returned, and the kitten was wrapped in her warmth once more.

In the third she was even older still, perhaps not even considered a kit. That familiar grey pelt was just in the corner of her eyes, and the black kit was tingling with anticipation. With a final glance back at her guardian, she leapt forwards, letting out a hiss as she plowed through the undergrowth. For a few seconds, there was no movement. Then, the black kitten returned, a small mouse grasped in her jaws, and a prideful grin on her face. However, it seemed as if that grin was a bit more than that. It almost appeared if the kit was happy to take that mouse's life.

After that dream, she couldn't shake the feeling of unease from her pelt. It was around the second night that she realized something: the memories of her past were fuzzy. Every time she was pulled from the present and brought backwards in time, it felt as if she were learning these things for the first time. It was strange really, but she still felt uncertain as her eyes fell closed that night.

Something was off. In this dream, the familiar dull grey fur was nowhere to be found. Strangely enough, the kitten didn't seem unsettled by this. Actually, they appeared to be relieved. As they padded through the underbrush, the feeling of despair grew with each step, yet the kitten did not notice. With one final flourish, she bounded into a clearing, staring at the center with a smile on her face.

That familiar pelt of grey was lying on the ground. It almost appeared as if she were sleeping. However, the small trail of blood leading from her throat told a different story. As the kitten approached, she felt strangely happy. Perhaps it was at the sight of her mother, but almost anyone could tell you differently. No, she was looking at the blood.

And that sight made her smile grow wide.


End file.
